Cthulhu Gonfalon

“These… What is going on?”

Looking at six gemstones in different colors, Sui Xiong fixed his gaze on the gas-like item that was spiraling slowly within the gemstones. With his power, he could see the true form of every cloud “gas.”

These were strong spirits that were sealed within. They were in a deep sleep, as though they were anesthetized.

“These are the six high priests of that higher order, whom they killed.” Snowflake said. “Frost felt that they couldn’t just let their souls go, so he imprisoned them in these gemstones. He urged me to inform you that, since these gemstones are his personal belongings, and because he expended them for official duty, you must reimburse him.”

“Why did he imprison their souls?” Sui Xiong felt perplexed.

“He thought that he couldn’t just let their souls go off into the ether. So, I think he did a great job.” Snowflake took out the little black board and drew a person lying dead on the ground. Then, Snowflake drew its soul, hovering over to the holy kingdom to lodge a complaint, while shedding tears.”If their souls were to head to their holy kingdom, the news would leak out!”

“Huh? The news is still a secret?” Sui Xiong was surprised. “After so many people died, they still don’t know who killed them?”

“Of course not. The souls of those people didn’t go to the holy kingdom, so how would they know?”

“If it was well-prepared and operations were carried out smoothly, it would be possible for the culprits to never be revealed, forever.”

“But wouldn’t Orc Gods know how to trace them, using divine power?”

“Which church would waste their divine power for that only a few high priests? They’re not worth it. Anyway, I haven’t heard of it before.”

Sui Xiong was confused. He could not understand how those high priests, who had shed blood, sweat, and tears, and who even sacrificed their lives, were considered not worth being saved. He never thought he would hear such comments!

He thought for awhile, then asked, “Could it be that there is some sort of error in your understanding towards human society?”

Snowflake was offended now. She lifted her head arrogantly, while looking down her nose at him. She then spoke proudly, “I am the Arctic Tyrant, who created Dragon-roar Town. You think that I don’t understand the human society?”

Sui Xiong thought and nodded. It was very convincing.

He thought again, then decided to contact Morani. Steel Lion was at least on somewhat decent terms with the Orc Gods. So, he might know some news.

Morani replied very quickly, explaining that, “In recent times, the Orc Gods really did send out quite a number of oracles, and they were working hard on the investigation of them. But, they were not investigating the assassination of the few high priests, but a very dangerous organization instead.”

“A very dangerous organization?” Sui Xiong asked in distress. “The Orc God system is considered to be the second most powerful among the God system, making it a very a dangerous organization…. Unless, it’s a human God system?”

“No, it’s an assassination organization,” Morani said. “That organization nurtured a scary female killer. Without poison, a curse, or any other supernatural measure, and merely depending on her skill in bed, she exhausted a legendary expert to death in a single night. And, she even has a divine power that allows her to block off tracking… Just imagining it, I found it surprising, too!”

Sui Xiong was quiet for a while. He thanked him and turned the connection off. Then, he couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Steele sure scored a lucky hit this time!

She, as a holy spirit, even though she was a counterfeit, possessed divinity, after all. So, the tracing of divine power would naturally be ineffective for her. But, Belem Syrah’s death, which she had been the killer within, had attracted the Orc Gods’ attentions. The chain assassination by Jose and Frost then became a small matter in comparison.

This is a surprise harvest!

After taking care of that, he looked at the souls that were imprisoned in the gemstones. He was worried. In order to prevent the leaking of information, these people couldn’t be released.

But, these souls… What should I do with them?

He took up a blue gemstone randomly, focusing his attention on the enshrouding aura within it. In his eyes, that neatly arranged cloud of aura gathered, then took up the form of a centaur woman that was in deep sleep. All of this happened within the gemstone!

The woman was beautiful and charming, and had a head of golden hair that shimmered. Her bone structure was slightly bigger, and her muscle looked a little too sturdy for a typical, ordinary female. All in all, she carried a typical image of a beauty soldier.

Oh, beauty knight, her bottom half is a horse.

How should I take care of the person’s soul?

In short… Should I brainwash her first?

How do I brainwash a soul?

That’s not right! Bro Xiong knows how to wash clothes, wash vegetables, reset gaming attributes points, but not brainwash!

After thinking it through thoroughly, he created a protective screen using divine power in order to ensure that the soul within wouldn’t disperse or escape. Then, he would release the soul later on.

Oveila opened her eyes slowly. As she awakened, she let out a terrified groan.

I was killed, and even my soul was imprisoned! Why am I awake now?

A green jellyfish appeared before her. On its round body, there was a chubby face that looked comical.

“Hello,” the jellyfish said. “I am Void Mask, the God that the two persons believed in. Are you interested in joining me?”

Sui Xiong wasn’t any good at debating, so he figured that he might as well be straightforward. Oveila was stunned. She looked around, but could only see white fog and didn’t know where she was.

Feeling it carefully, she realized that there was a faintly warm aura that slipped out among the white fog, which moisturized her soul. It helped to maintain the vigor of her soul that had lost its body, so that it wouldn’t become withered and die out.

But, the white fog also had a strange stickiness that caused her to have difficulty walking. Hence, even if the huge jellyfish wasn’t blocking her way, it would likely be impossible for her to dash past. But, she would not submit to all of this!

“I am the high priest of the King of Tyrannical. I would never shift to anyone else!” She replied decisively. “Maybe you could transform me into some kind of magic beast that has no intellect. But, as long as I have my senses, I will never betray my beliefs!”

“You are really!” Sui Xiong let out a sigh. “What you’re doing now is trying to persuade me to commit a crime!”

Oveila did not reply, but kept quiet. She was working hard to save her energy. She was not sure if her resistance would be meaningful, but as a loyal high priest of the King of Tyrannical, she had to battle till her very last breath!

Sui Xiong didn’t intend to make a move but, remained silent. Then, he asked, “What benefit did the God of Centaur give to you, in order for you to remain loyal to Him, even after you die?”

“I am the creation of His Majesty. It is only right and proper to devote my heart and soul to Him.”

“No!” Sui Xiong shook his head. “He created the centaur tribe, and that definitely deserves your respect. But, that doesn’t mean that he deserves to be served unconditionally. I won’t accept that answer, so you have to think of another one.”

Oveila was a little confused. She thought for a while, then expressed that she couldn’t think of another answer.

“A creation is loyal to its creator, which is something that is in line with the principles of heaven and earth,” she said. “If you want to punish me, go ahead and do it. But, if you want to try to shake my belief via words, there is no need to.”

Sui Xiong laughed. “I only wanted to explore the topic of beliefs with you. In fact, I heard of a saying: ‘Belief is not a deal, so there shouldn’t be a condition.’”

“But, belief is a deal,” Sui Xiong continued. “God provides protection and the savior human provides to God his worship and allegiance. Thus, their positions might not be equal, but intrinsically, they are still making a deal.”

Oveila creased her eyebrows and looked at Sui Xiong vigilantly. “Forgive me for being straightforward. You do not think like a God, but like a Devil in hell.”

“Devil? Well, I have never been to hell. I do not know them. Do they think like I do?”

“I heard that devil thinks that all relationships and associations in the world, including those between humans and God, follow the principle of the deal. So, they would punish those that destroy the principle of the deal. They even call themselves the true just rulers.” Oveila subconsciously explained all of this, before suddenly questioning, “As a God, how could you not know about this?”

“I really have no idea.” Sui Xiong spread his tentacles in a semi-shrug. “If you want to talk to me about the devils in the Abyss, I could talk a lot about them. I fought quite a number of battles with them, so I have some basic understanding regarding that. But, regarding hell, I haven’t even been there. Hence, I have never seen any devils, so I have zero understanding about them!”

He saw that Oveila still looked wary and doubtful, which made him laugh. “How about this? My church is in its initial stage, so I really need a true clergy of the higher order to host the subject of popular science. Are you interested in taking a part-time job for a short period of time?”

“I will not change my beliefs!” Oveila was raging with anger now.

“There’s no need for you to change your beliefs.” Sui Xiong smiled as he explained, “You are only in charge as an instructor, so you can give the half-brained clergymen under my control some basic knowledge. After all, they aren’t very bright. For example, did you know that a few idiots went to assassinate the high priests of the Orc Gods churches, just because the Orc Gods attacked me in the past? This is simply stupid!”

“Are you against My Majesty?” Oveila was shocked. “I definitely wouldn’t work for My Majesty’s enemy!”

“It’s not that we are enemies, but that we merely had a fight.” Sui Xiong waved his hands. “To us at this level, as long as it is not a conflict of clergy or territory, so what if there was a fight? My territory is located at the west of Mountains of Barrenness, and your Orcs’ territory is located on the east. We do not share borders at all. As for the clergy, it is needless to say, I have yet to even confirm my clergy. So, the possibility of conflict is non-existent. You think too much!”

“As a God, were you to cheat a commoner, wouldn’t you feel shameful?” Oveila didn’t believe him at all.

Sui Xiong smiled. “Anyway, just think about it carefully. Then, call my name when you are done thinking. It is merely a part-time job. I wouldn’t send you to train the warriors, and I wouldn’t need you to provide news about the Orc Gods either.”

Oveila didn’t think about it for very long. After a half a month, she finally agreed with Sui Xiong’s invitation.

Sui Xiong was thrilled, and decided to help her reform her body. Of course, it couldn’t be a centaur, but must be another creature. But, before that, he still had to reform another body…

Now, his attention must shift to the clone, Traverser Sui Xiong MK2, who was sent to experience life, but had died again!